The Escapades of Apartment 4A!
by StudioGhibliGirl
Summary: My new series! Shenny, T, for romance (later on) achohol and mild swearing! Summary: When Penny needs help most, Sheldon starts thinking of others, helping friends and those who might even be more...


BBT fanfic: Chapter 1:

"7's my lucky number"

Shenny, T

Penny slapped her alarm groggily till it stopped beeping and sat up. "Happy Thursday to me..." she grumbled to no one in particular. The red numbers on the clock told her she had almost an hour till her shift at the Cheescake Factory. Sighing, she grudgingly pulled her legs over the side of the bed. The dull ache in her head told her it would take at least 2 cups of coffee to wake up fully, and she shuffled to the kitchen zombie-style and started a pot. While it was brewing she took a long shower, then pulled on her tacky uniform. As she was pouring herself the magical energy-giving drink, her eyes wandered to the calendar she had hung next to the doorway, with the big red X over today's date. She cursed inwardly and turned away.

Five minutes later, she had downed both cups and headed for the door. The hallway was empty; the residents of 4A, that being Leonard and Sheldon, had long since left for their own, more prestigious jobs. The drive passed slowly, as Penny had no interesting thoughts to dwell on as she sat through the irritating traffic. But finally,she pulled her crappy Beemer into the Cheesecake Factory parking lot. Her friend and fellow employee, Bernadette waved at her from the drivers seat of her own car and joined her, together they walked thru the back entrance.

"Hi Penny!" Bernidette said brightly. Penny just gave her a tiny smile. The manager, a short man with a slight French accent named Alonso approached themas they hung their coats. "Ladies! I don't pay you to stand around and chat! Allons-y!" (He was known for slipping into his native tongue on occasion) Penny rolled her eyes. Alonso was such an a idiot... Alonso caught her guesture and said "Penny! Go wait table 3! Now!" She gave Bernidette a quick goodbye and headed to that table, where a pair couple of twenty-something males grinned at her. "What would you guys like to order?" Penny said in a fake sugar sweet voice and the men exchanged a look. One spoke in a low voice, "We want you, babe! Feel like playing?" The other stuck a hand on her back. Penny stepped back, repulsed. The one who spoke first asked "What's the matter babe? You seemed like the easy type." Penny was outraged. "I'M NOT!" she said a bit too loudly and hit the 2nd ones hand, hard. All of the diners looked over at her and murmured. Penny felt her face flush in embarrassment and she rushed back to the kitchen. Alonso intercepted her. "Why were you yelling at a table, Penny!? " he interrogated. "Those guys were harassing me!" "I have a million witty little hussies just begging for your job, don't push me! You caused a huge scene and now I have to give those guys a free meal for the trouble!" he yelled and pointed at the back door. "Get out before you cause more trouble, I'm taking their meals cost out of your paycheck!" Penny felt tears sting her eyes and darted out the exit. She sat down on the curb next to the dumpster and cried.

Penny felt a hand on her back and looked up to see Bernadette. "I took my lunch break early." she said and sat down next to her. They sat like that for a couple minutes. Then Bernadette asked "Why did they bother you so much? You usually handle perverts rather well...," Penny stared at her, then let out a deep sigh. "Today is the 7 month annuversary since I've had a boyfriend...or, ya know, the stuff that comes with it...I've been messed up all day." Bernadette looked confused. "But it should be easy for a girl like you to find somebody!" Penny exhaled slowly. "I'm sick of having meaningless relationships with random idiots, I guess you could say Leonard got me off of dumb guys, I want someone who is smart and likes me, not just my body...and Leonard's moved on since we broke up, he's with Priya now."

Bernadette gave her a hug. "Everything will be okay, don't worry." She stood. "My breaks almost over, I have to go." They hugged one last time and Bernadette went back inside. Once she was gone Penny picked herself off the curb and walked to her car. She started the engine. Penny made a decision. She was going to forget the whole anniversary thing, one way or another.

Penny drove to a downtown bar, not the one she part-timed at. This one was more skeezy, there was a very loud bachelorette party in a booth in the corner and a couple of truckers at the stools, overall your typical bar crowd. Penny plopped herself down at the other end of the stools, as far away from the burly truckers as she could get. No one payed any attention to her. Grabbing the attention of the tattooed female bartender she asked for a shot of tequila. "Sure thing, hon." the woman said and set down the glass. Penny knocked it back like it was water. "Another, please!"

Three hours later, Dr. Leonard Hoftstater was interrupted from his night of Thai food and Halo with Shendon (Howard and Koothripali couldn't make it, they insisted that they were almost on a breakthrough for a hack on the cameras of the Miss America dressing rooms) by the insistent sound of his cell phone. "Is this Leonard?" a familiar but slurred Nebraska accent asked from the other end. Leonard was quite bothered about who was calling him at such an hour, it was 8 'o' clock at night, for Newton's sake! "Yes, and who might this be?!" "It's Penny, I'm reaaallly drunk and the bar lady say I can't drive home. Shes such a b-b-bE-AYCH . " Leonard then heard Penny dissolve into a fit of giggles. Sheldon looked up from his gaming. "Well, who is it?" he asked, quite annoyed. " It's Penny, we have to go pick her up." Sheldon looked even more irritated. "Why must both of us come, I see no reason why I must accompany you." Because you're her friend too and I won't be able to carry her by myself, she's wasted!" Sheldon continued his protest. "But it's Halo night! We can't forsake the weekly tradition now! It could unbalance everything I've strived for!" Leonard simply stated "She needs you." There was a pause, and he couldn't read Sheldon's expression as he grimaced for a minute, then set down his controller, grabbed his coat and brushed past Leonard to the door. Leonard stood there, shocked. Normally he would be the most stubborn person on earth when it came to inconveniencing himself for the sake of others. Sheldon didn't usually show the slightest bit of empathy; maybe his friendship with Penny was changing him more than anyone had thought.

Sheldon felt a wave of uncalled for and certainly not wished for, pity as he saw his inebriated female friend slumped over the bar. His usual apathetic attitude was broken by the very sight of her. He pushed past Leonard to help the intoxicated blonde. She was a train wreck, drenched in sweat, barely even conscious, practically soaked in the scent of strong liquor. He had never seen her like this. No, Sheldon didn't wish to see this side of his friend, this sad creature. Something inside him awoke, the need to protect Penny, a person who truly cared for him. Disregarding any qualms he had of touching other life forms, he beckoned for Leonard to assist him and, each grabbing an arm, they pulled Penny out of the building, ignoring her mumbles of protest.

In the parking lot of the bar, Leonard paused, made a gesture to Sheldon as he set the wasted Nebraskan in the theoretical physicist's arms. His iPhone, complete with Battlestar Galactica-theme ring tone, had gone off and Sheldon could hear Priya's insistent jabber on the other end. Penny continued to snore quietly in his arms and Sheldon resisted his urge to complain of his predicament. Moments later, Leonard hung up and turned around, a bit of dread in his eyes. He spoke; "Priya's parents made a surprise trip to Pasadena, I'm going to having to go to the airport with her and pick them up right now..." Sheldon looked at him, shocked. "And what am I supposed to do with our friend here?!" The short physicist stared him down. "I don't know! Figure it out, Sheldon!" After more heated arguing Leonard finally drove off in his car, having given the OCD roommate the number of a taxi company, lord only knows where he had gotten it.

Sitting outside the tavern waiting for the cab, it finally dawned on Sheldon just exactly what he had gotten himself into. He had Penny, drunk out of her mind, laying on the bench with her head in his lap, in contact with him for Christ's sake! How had he gotten himself to this point? Sheldon made the logical assumption that adrenaline must have betrayed him; that could be the only reason. (Future) Nobel prize winners don't get themselves into such a predicament in the first place! Even if Penny was his, he paused, his 'friend'...could it be that he genuinely felt instincts to help her that overruled logic? Sheldon stood up suddenly, stricken by the thought, which caused Penny's head to hit the bench. "T-That hurt, Moonpie!" she slurred and rubbed her already aching skull. Sheldon, still in awe of his newfound realization, simply lifted her up and placed her head in its former position, brushing Penny's hair back from her face, a gesture that, despite his misgivings with contact, just felt right to him at the moment. Sheldon cringed. "I'm going soft, aren't I?" he mumbled aloud and heard his female 'friend' next to him say "Yuuup, Dr. Whackadoodle!" and roll to face away from him.

Minutes later, the aforementioned cab pulled up, stereo blasting a headache inducing mix of rapping and electronic beats. The driver gave a stiff grunt and motioned for them to hurry, despite the fact his schedule couldn't be too busy at nearly nine thirty on a Thursday evening. Sheldon managed to get Penny into the vehicle without major incident, gave the man the address, and they were off. An ice cold scowl on Sheldon's part made the cabbie lower the music to an acceptable level, and soon he began to question the older Jewish-looking male on when he had last serviced his automobile, why he hadn't yet fixed the slight crack in the taillight, the pressure of the tires, etc. After about 5 minutes of this interrogation, the man punched the dashboard and barked something in Hebrew, probably a curse. Sheldon decided to not further anger the driver who very well might hold the key to him living this car ride, and promptly shut up, choosing instead to stare out the window at the lights flickering in and out of view.

Sheldon was taken from his brief reverie by the sound of Penny stirring next to him. He ventured conversation cautiously. "Are you functioning at a greater mental capacity now, Penny?" This earned him a blank stare. Sheldon tried again, this time trying to speak in easier terms for a person of her state. "Um, how are ya feeling?" Realization flashed in her eyes and she let out a snort. "I-I'm good, Sergeant Spock!" Sheldon choose to ignored her obvious lack of Trekkie knowledge and pressed on. "Is your blood alcohol level at a more acceptable level?" She giggled and said. "I'm not drunk, don't you worry!" but the statement lost it's believability by the way she slurred her words at the end. She was tugging on his shirt, dazed, and Sheldon lightly pushed her off him, only to find her head on his shoulder a few seconds later. He let out an exasperated sigh, squirming at the feel of her breath on his direct skin. "I'm definitely going to shower in disinfectant when we get back..." but he didn't try to move her away again.

Penny wasn't as incoherent as she has let on. Sure, she was still feeling every single effect of the tequila in her head and was the epitome of drunk, but there was a small part of her that recognized how nice it was to have someone so close, and that someone teeny part recognized it wasn't so bad to be in Sheldon's warm, albeit stiff and and a tad reluctant embrace, in some taxi, wherever the heck they were. Maybe it was even nice, the nicest she had felt in 7 whole months. A flush of red crept to her face and she coughed awkwardly. Definitely the booze that caused that, she thought. Definitely...

Sheldon was just about tempted to doze off, the noises of the quiet hum of the engine and the steady rise and fall of Penny's breathing wearing his alertness down. But when Penny started to speak, he sat straight up. It wasn't that she was talking that was surprising, it was the words themselves that stymied him; "We should do this again sometime..." He furrowed his brow. "Do what?" She simply smiled knowingly and sat up off his shoulder, taking her turn to stare out the window with a wry smile on her face.

Sheldon, given his curious nature, wasn't about to let this one slide. "Explain your statement Penny, I want to know." She just pantomimed zipping her lips and kept staring out. Before Sheldon could issue another protest, the cabbie interrupted them. "This is it folks, your stop!" he snapped as the brakes squeaked to a halt. Sheldon sighed and propped Penny up, handed the man the fare (He did not include a tip, thank you very much!) and got out of the vehicle. The disgruntled cabbie unceremoniously revved the engine and pulled away, muttering on about "ungrateful cheapo's!" Sheldon made a sharp quip about the man's use of nonsensical vernacular but choked on the exhaust fumes before he could finish.

They received a fleeting look from the lobby receptionist and headed for the stairs, for sure an odder sight than their usual selves. Sheldon's hair had been mussed at some point from its usual tidiness and his clothes wrinkled, and Penny was obviously in a more dazed state than the norm. 'To people it must look as though we..' Sheldon thought and stopped himself. He sighed. As if he needed more problems!

"Stop wearing these infernal heeled shoes Penny!" Sheldon muttered for the hundredth time as he tried to shoo his female accomplice up the next flight of stairs, almost to the apartment. She snorted. "These 'infernal' heels cost me half of the rent, don't test me M-Moonpie!" But she yelped as her ankle bent a way it wasn't supposed to on next step, searing pain hitting her hard. She sunk to her knees. "OW!" Sheldon muttered "Serves you right..." but when he saw Penny was actually hurt, he rushed to her aid, determined to be as good a friend (The word still felt strangely foreign to him) as he could. Using more upper body strength than she thought he had in him, he picked her up bridal style, he trudged up the remaining flight. Of course, this chivalrous act did not go without consequences, he managed to bitch about her 'unaccounted-for mass' through most of it. Still, Penny managed a smile despite the pain as he set her down lightly and fished for the key in her purse outside her door. Having returned empty-handed, he looked down at her and inquired its whereabouts. "Poor babies, mommy's gonna taken care of you!" was her only reply as she fondled the now a bit scratched up heels, oblivious to the world. Sheldon tried again, but ultimately sighed and gave up. "Guess you're spending the night at our place..." he muttered and crossed the hall to 4A, pulling Penny along with him.

They walked into the familiar apartment, or rather, one walked and one stumbled drowsily, murmuring about expensive shoes. Grabbing Penny by the shoulders and plopping her down on the couch, an impressive feat with all her pent-up energy, Sheldon laid some ground rules. "Firstly, this is a one time exception, don't make me regret it more than I already do!" Penny rolled her eyes but let him continue. "You sleep on the couch. You may not enter my room unless there is a chestburster epidemic, a fire or a member of my top 100 scientific idols list enters the building, in which case, you must not impede my chances of getting his/her autograph! Do I make myself clear?" he warned. Penny nodded quickly. "Yessir! Duly noted!" Sheldon sighed and sat up. "Go take a shower, I'll bring you some pajamas..." Penny looked shocked. "Has the notorious tinman grown a heart? You're being so nice!" Sheldon glared. "The juvenile movie references are not necessary. Please refrain from wasting my time with such trivial matters and hurry up before i reevaluate my decision to let you stay!" He guestured to the bathroom impatiently. Penny cracked a smile. 'Same old Sheldon!' she thought as she shut the bathroom door quickly.

As Penny showered, she took a moment to contemplate her position, the cold water serving to sober her up enough to think clearly. Her mind was wandering through the various escapades she had undertaken while Sheldon Lee Cooper had joined her life. They ranged from maddening to hilarious, with all sorts of crazy inbetween. Penny shook her head for a moment, then let a small grin escape her. She couldn't even remember why she had been sad in the first place, and it was all because of Sheldon's unusual behavior. Of course, he was still an insufferable, pretentious, narcissistic jackass sometimes, but he was also the closest thing Penny had ever had to a true friend, and that fact kept a dorky smile plastered on her face.


End file.
